Matthew Monagle
Bill Paxton, Star of ‘Aliens’ and ‘Twister,’ Passes Away at 61
As a teenager in the ’90s, no actor better represented blockbuster movies than Bill Paxton. Although Paxton wasn’t typically a leading man in those movies — he would often play the brother, the second-in-command, or the comic relief — he served as a kind of talisman of quality. If you saw Paxton’s name in the opening credits of a movie, you knew that the film was going to be better for it.
Baby Groot Might Just Kill Us All in This International ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Poster
If I were a Marvel sales rep, I would get down on my knees every day and thank Thanos for the series of events that led to Baby Groot. Baby Groot might just be the pinnacle of Hollywood marketing; not only is his cute visage the perfect thing to slap on every action figure, lunch box, and stuffed animal from here to the moon, it’s also a character that sidesteps typical customer cynicism. If fans felt for one moment that Baby Groot was a thinly veiled attempt to sell them more junk, they would push back on James Gunn and Marvel with all their strength. But instead, we are treated to one of the baddest killing machines in the galaxy who happens to be totally adorable, too.
James Gunn Shot Three Upcoming Stan Lee Cameos for Marvel
For decades, Marvel has benefited greatly from having Stan Lee as the unofficial ambassador of all things comic book-related. Over the past few years, though, director James Gunn has given Lee a run for his money with his (relative) candor about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the challenge of keeping the characters and mythology of the comic books all in a row. When Lee is finally ready to hang up his Marvel hat, Gunn might be the obvious chose to succeed him as the creative face of the company. And that makes the two of them working together on Lee’s MCU cameos just about the perfect match.
A Whole Bunch of ‘Batman’ Is Coming to HBO in November
Between the epic run of Game of Thrones and the impressive first season of Westworld, odds are good that you’re currently rocking an annual subscription to HBO or HBOGo. Few networks are still in the business of appointment television, but with social media sites like Twitter exploding into a flurry of spoilers after each new episode of both shows, fans are finding that their only real options are to watch on time or to not watch at all. In fact, we can sometimes get so caught up in the flurry of long-form television that we forget that HBO has some pretty darn good movies, too.
‘Pokemon: The First Movie’ Is Headed Back to Theaters
Ah, the Pokémon franchise. It seems like only yesterday that millions of people were wandering the streets of their hometowns, eyes locked to their smartphone screens as they flung Pokeballs at imaginary creatures hovering over local businesses. The Pokémon Go craze, with its innovative use of technology and beloved cartoon characters, brought the popular animated series back into the public spotlight. And with news that Legendary Pictures would shoot a new live-action Pokémon movie in 2017, it was only a matter of time before some of the original films found their way back into theaters.
The Original ‘Powers Rangers’ Cast Were Not Invited Back for the New Movie
These days, if you reboot a franchise, you give the original cast members a couple of seconds of screen time. It’s pretty much a win-win scenario as far as producers are concerned. Fans who believe that sequels and remakes are heresy will be somewhat satiated by the involvement of original cast members, while newcomers won’t have any idea why the crowd around them is cheering for that background character. Sure, it’s fan service, but let’s be honest: some properties need a little bit of fan service more than others.
‘Moulin Rouge’ Will Become a Musical Because It Can, Can, Can
The relationship between Broadway and and Hollywood has always struck me as a bit unfair. Hollywood basically gets its pick of pre-packaged products: wonderful lyrics, showstopping dance numbers, and beloved songs. Broadway, meanwhile, has to do most of the heavy lifting when adapting a movie for the stage. Oh, you want to make Waitress into a Broadway musical? That’s great! You’ll just need to write a whole new suite of songs. And figure out all the choreography. And rewrite the book to make those first two things fit. Because the movie has none of that.
Stan Lee Reveals His Next Three Marvel Cameos
The fact that Stan Lee is guaranteed to appear in nearly every single Marvel movie is one of those small little charms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that I hope never goes away. Sure, some people probably view it as an annoying break in the fourth wall, but it also reminds audiences that we are watching a superhero comic book movie. These movies don’t need to choose between being cartoonish and deadly serious; they can be both, often at the same time, and Stan Lee always helps drive that point home.
Dwayne Johnson Confirms the New ‘Jumanji’ Movie Is a Sequel
This weekend, as he normally does, Dwayne Johnson went on Instagram to say goodbye to his most recent movie shoot and say hello to the next thing in his pipeline (seriously, the only time this guy sleeps must be when he is flying from one movie location to another). And while it’s worth noting that Johnson thanked many of the Fast 8 cast and crew excluding Vin Diesel — the feud lives on! — it was another small comment about his upcoming production of Jumanji that turned a few heads.
Jimmy Smits Confirms ‘Star Wars’ Cameo in ‘Rogue One’
The list of known Star Wars characters showing up in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story keeps getting longer. In the past few months, we learned that both Rebellion leader Mon Montha and little-known bad guy Darth Vader would both be making appearances in the new standalone film. Now we can add Senator Bail Organa of the doomed planet Alderaan to that list.
J.K. Rowling Says That Harry Potter Is ‘Done Now’
A few weeks ago, Daniel Radcliffe gave a very diplomatic answer when asked if he would ever consider a return to the Harry Potter franchise. And while the actor admitted that he would never close the door to the possibility — for the right script and with the right people involved — it turns out he may not have a franchise to return to. As reported by io9, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling told reporters at the premiere of London stage show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that her beloved character was done after the events of the play.
Morgan Freeman Joins the Cast of Disney’s Live-Action ‘The Nutcracker’
Earlier this week, we learned that Disney had officially cast Interstellar actress Mackenzie Foy as Clara in their upcoming live-action adaptation of The Nutcracker. You can now add another name to that cast: according to The Hollywood Reporter, Morgan Freeman is in talks to join the movie as the mysterious and whimsical Drosselmeyer. Fingers crossed that this means we will get a Morgan Freeman dance number in the new movie.
The New Season of ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ Is Headed to Netflix
If someone asked me to trace my personal development as a cinephile, I’m pretty sure that Mystery Science Theater 3000 would be one of the most important stops along the way. I grew up watching the show; it instilled in me an appreciation for pointless pop culture knowledge as well as an affection for so-called bad movies. Mike, Joel and the bots may have spent their time mocking ’70s and ’80s films, but there was always an undercurrent of good cheer and low-budget kinship that I admired.
Matthew McConaughey to teach University Film Class
Remember those days in high school where your regular history teacher would call in sick and some anonymous substitute would just put on a VHS of Glory or Gettysburg and call it a day? It turns out that practice is still alive and well at universities across the country, with one small difference: instead of some random recent college graduate as a substitute teacher, these students will be visited by Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey.
Anna Kendrick Interested in a ‘Squirrel Girl’ Movie
Nothing like a fresh, piping hot superhero rumor on a long weekend, am I right? Earlier this week, Net-A-Porter (via /Film) took the opportunity to ask Anna Kendrick which superhero she could see herself playing. She admitted that her brother had sent her a Squirrel Girl comic and that Kendrick could see herself playing the character. So if we’re being honest here, a more accurate headline would probably, ‘Anna Kendrick’s Brother Interested in Anna Kendrick Being Interested in a Squirrel Girl Movie’, but my goodness, that’s practically illegible, isn’t it?